Bishops set a record in FNB Classic

Match Report

It was a remarkable effort by Bishops and yet there seemed something out of joint in their record-breaking 70-3 victory over Rondebosch in an FNB Classic Clash at Rondebosch on Friday, Youth Day.

Victory for Bishops was always on the cards. After all they are having a remarkably good year, while Rondebosch have beaten only one other school, Jeppe, in their opening match.

This 67-point winning margin surpasses the 59-point winning margin of 2003 when Bishops won 78-19.

Given the nature of the stern competition between the two schools since 1911, this victory was, like that of 2003, something of a freak show.

In addition to having a bad run Rondebosch have, as sides having a bad run do, a series of injuries and were without their flyhalf and two wings today. Bishops on the other hand have been having a good run and, as sides having a good run do, they have not had injuries.

The mismatch started at the kick-off.

Rondebosch kicked off deep and eighthman Köster caught the ball and started running.

Running and passing is what Bishops do. Köster gave to Cian van der Vyver who broke sharply in midfield and then passed to Köster who had come up on his right and Köster raced through for a try at the posts, which Mathew Turner converted. That made it 7-0 to Bishops, the start of a seven-try, seven-conversions feast.

The conductor of this orchestrated victory was centre and captain Adrian Kritzinger. The absence of such a creative player from Western Province schools' teams continues to mystify.

The kick-off and what happened after that set the trend for the whole match. When Rondebosch kicked Bishops were likely to run back and score. For this reason many of their tries came from afar. What made them possible was the handling and the positioning of all fifteen players.

The handling was slick, sharp and confident. The support players ran into position, often giving the would-be passer two or even more players to pass to. And they all did it. It was not that Rondebosch were unwilling to tackle, but there were just too many to tackle.

Bishops did everything top pass before contact and stay in the game where Rondebosch sought contact and made tackling easy for the Bishops players who had simply to be in the way.

At the breakdown Rondebosch would commit many players. If they did get the ball back they were short-handed.

Bishops do not wear numbers on their backs and that may have something to do with how they play. They take set positions at scrums and for kick-offs and pretty well for line-outs. For the rest every man is as capable as the next man of catching, running and passing. One of their most involved and busiest players was hooker Dasch Barber.

The only predictable thing about the Bishops side was that they would be unpredictable.

After Matthew Russell had been short with a long penalty attempt and then skew for a shorter one, for Bishops were much more penalised than Rondebosch, Bishops, who were running everything, started to run out of their own territory and Kritzinger broke cleanly. He gave to tall Jeff van Breda, a star basketball player, and the big lock strode over the 22 and on to score behind the posts.  14-0.

Kritzinger himself got try No.3 when he broke on the left and simply swept the 30 or so metres to the posts. 21-0.

It came as a shock when, for the first time, a Bishops player kicked. It was fullback Leigh Bruinders and he did so from under his posts. The Rondebosch catcher knocked on and Bishops grabbed the golden opportunity. Again they kicked. This time it was a grubber by Kritzinger which  wing Mathew Turner gathered.  He sped over for the try behind the posts. 28-0.

In fact Bishops kicked the ball in play four times in the match, and each time they ended scoring in that movement.

Just before the break Russell succeeded with a penalty kick at goal. 28-3.

That was half-time score and Rondebosch had been playing with the light but mean wind from the south.

The second half was like unto the first, only more so.

Turner with sheer speed got the first try of the second half and then when Rondebosch kicked on Bishops's left, inside the Bishops half, Bishops attacked down the right and Michael Nel raced over for the try.

Bishops nearly scored again from the kick-off when they should probably have scored after some incisive running and interplay by their locks.

When Bishops won a turn-over near the half-way line, Köster kicked, which seemed odd. He kicked a long kick to the right. Cian van der Vyver footed ahead and Nel grabbed the ball for his second try,. 49-3.

In the middle of the field there was a tackle/ruck and suddenly, for the only time in the match scrumhalf Stuart Commins broke. He sped down the middle of the field for a try at the posts. 56-3.

The next try was a delightful bit of individualism. Van der Vyver chipped some 50 metres out, collected his own kick and raced to the posts with not a Rondebosch player near him. 63-3.

That try broke the record of points' difference for matches between Bishops and Rondebosch..

Form the kick-off Bruinders brioke down the Bishops right but Rondebosch were saved by a knock-on at the line. Bishops, who were much stronger at scrum time, won a tighthead and were over in a flash but the referee decided that the ball had been held up.

From the subsequent five-metre scrum Bishops went right and Köster scored the final try of the match without difficulty.

The celebration was muted in many ways, nothing like winning a thriller. After all the foregone conclusion had been completed.

This was the 166th match between the two schools. Bishops have won 83, Rondebosch 65 and 17 have been drawn. Bishops have scored 1935 points, Rondebosch 1370.

Scorers:

For Bishops:
Tries: Nick Köster 2, Michael Nel 2, Mathew Turner 2, Adrian Kritzinger, Cian van der Vyver, Stuart Commins, Jeff van Breda
Cons: AdriaMathew Turner 10

For Rondebosch:
Pen: Matthew Russell

Teams:

Bishops: 15 Leigh Bruinders, 14 Michael Nel, 13 Adrian Kritzinger (captain), 12 Cian van der Vyver, 11 Mathew Turner, 10 Craig Jordens, 9 Stuart Commins, 8 Nick Köster, 7 Michael Morris, 6 Callan Artus, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Jeff van Breda, 3 Lyall Bluett, 2 Dasch Barber, 1 Wesley Chetty.

Coach: André Jacobs

Rondebosch: 15 Shareef Ismail, 14 Ghalieb Frieslaar, 13 Graeme Staegmann, 12 Victor Goliath, 11 Daizaan Edries, 10 Matthew Russell, 9 Adam Brink, 8 Nicholas Sheard, 7 Matthew Hichens, 6 Jarryd Buratovich (captain), 5 Theo van Aspern, 4 David Roux,  3 James Melrose, 2 Ryan Fuller, 1 Shawn Dyson.

Coach: Leon Erasmus

Referee: Alwyn Brink (Western Province Referees' Society)

For a preview of the match with links to other articles, click here.